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Community Corner

WESTFIELD AREA Y CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECT UNDERWAY

For anyone who’s recently visited the Westfield Area Y Main Facility on Clark Street, you may be wondering what the bulldozers and fences are for.  The Y is proud to announce that it has entered the beginning phases of a capital campaign that will strengthen the community by increasing accessibility for all.  The campaign focuses on upgrading the Y facility’s infrastructure and ensuring ADA compliance.

As such, the first phase includes modernizing and replacing the existing entry ramp to ensure proper width, slope and landing points.  The ramp will directly access both a new elevator, which will provide service to the third floor, and an enhanced vestibule.  This phase of the project will be completed this year. 

The second phase involves constructing new ADA-compliant male and female restrooms on the second and third floors of the Main Y.  It also involves installation of an enclosed emergency exit from the second floor.  This phase is scheduled to be complete by mid-2014.

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The third phase involves enhancing the emergency exit and below-level access to the Wallace Pool mechanical area, which should be complete by the end of 2014.  The fourth phase involves renovating and moving the racquetball courts from the lower level to the first floor to create staging space for future lower level renovations.  Additionally, we will modernize the school age child care classrooms, add storage and upgrade the plumbing, heating and electrical infrastructure and aesthetics of the remainder of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd floors of the Y.  This phase will be completed in 2015.

By completing these renovations, all of the Y’s programs and services will be open and accessible to all members of the community, including the elderly, disabled and parents with young children in strollers.  The capital campaign improvement project will include more flexible, high quality multi-purpose program space to serve the varying segments of our population.  With these necessary improvements, the Y will be poised to continue serving the needs of the community for 90 more years and beyond.

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Additional information and updates will be posted directly on the Y’s website:  www.westfieldynj.org.   Opportunities to support the Y’s efforts will be announced. To learn more, please call Bonnie Cohen at 908-233-2700 x240.

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